Apparatus and system for drinkable bottle cap

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and system are described for a drinkable cap and a drinkable cap system. The disclosed embodiments describe, amongst other things, for example, a drinkable cap that may be removably secured to a drinking vessel. The cap may be configured such that a user doesn&#39;t need to touch their lips or mouth to the cap in order to drink.

BACKGROUND I. Field

The disclosed embodiments relate to an apparatus and system for drinkable “bottle” caps.

II. Background

There exist a wide range of cups, drinking glasses, containers, bottles and other vessels that allow users to drink. To prevent spillage when carried or transported purse, a removable cap is often placed over these vessels. Since there are many consumers who do not wish to take the time or go through the effort of removing the cap every time they wish to take a drink, some modern water bottles have caps that support an aperture that allows the user to drink from the bottle with the cap still on.

One popular method for drinking out of a capped water bottle is to lift the cap and squeeze the bottle (e.g. sports cap). The drawback to these caps is that in order for them to work the bottles themselves must be flexible material, often plastic, which may be undesirable for some for health or environmental reasons etc. Moreover, metal water bottles (e.g. non-flexible) often use a cap equipped with a built-in straw connected to a mouthpiece, or a mouthpiece that the user lifts the bottle up to pour out the mouth piece. The drawbacks being that the user has to wrap their lips around an exposed surface, which may be undesirable for some. For example, the mouth piece may be dirty, the vessel may be shared amongst more than one user, or it may be simply a non-preferred method of drinking out of a vessel. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a drinkable cap that may resolve these problems.

SUMMARY

Apparatuses for caps designed to fit various bottles are described. In an embodiment, a cap comprising: an aperture; a valve configured to open and close the aperture; a valve controller configured to control the valve; a drinkable cap guide configured to protrude out from the drinkable cap in a vertical direction; and the drinkable cap configured to be a removably secured to a vessel.

In yet another embodiment, a cap for a bottle is described, comprised an aperture; a valve configured to pulse open and close the aperture; a drinkable cap guide configured to protrude out from the drinkable cap in a vertical direction; and the drinkable cap configured to be a removably secured to a vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The following embodiments may be better understood by referring to the following figures. The figures are presented for illustration purposes only, and may not be drawn to scale or show every feature, orientation, or detail of the embodiments. They are simplified to help one of skill in the art understand the embodiments readily, and should not be considered limiting.

FIG. 1 illustrates a drinkable cap system in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user drinking from a system in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a drinkable cap system with the valve closed

FIG. 4 illustrates a drinkable cap system with the valve open

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed below can be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide a system and an apparatus for a drinkable “cap” designed to be removably attached on top of a drinking vessel. Applications for the disclosed embodiments are not meant to be limited to just “sport” type applications, but rather, broadly apply to other uses as is readily apparent to a POSA. Representative examples of the following embodiments will now be described in further detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art details for practicing the preferred aspects of the teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments.

The disclosed embodiments broadly describe a removably secured or permanently affixed cap which attaches to a drinking vessel and a drinkable cap system. The drinkable cap may be configured such that a user may drink from a vessel without having to place their lips/mouth, on it in order to drink. The drinkable cap may include a pour aperture and a valve which may be activated in a variety of ways. The drinkable cap may include one or more ventilation orifices to improve airflow during filling and pouring. The drinkable cap may be made of metal, plastic, rubber, wood, polymers, or any combinations thereof. Furthermore, the term vessel as used, herein, broadly means any container that holds liquids, such as water bottle, canteen, thermos, half-gallon jug, can, jar, jug, carafe, pitcher, cup, made of a variety and combination of materials such as glass, wood, metal, plastic, paper, or any combinations thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates a drinkable cap system 100 in an embodiment. A drinkable cap 20 may be removably secured to a drinking vessel 10 (shown here as a water bottle). The drinking cap 20 may be removably secured as is well known in the art by way of threading, friction coupling, snap on, etc. In an embodiment, the cap's 20 diameter may be designed to fit on the drinking vessel 10. It may be, for example, between 2 and 9 inches. The drinking vessel may be disposable. In an embodiment, the cap 20 may be affixed to the drinking vessel 10 permanently via adhesive, molding, welding, hardware as is well known in the art. The cap 20 may have a valve control 30 that a user may engage to open and close the valve allowing liquid to pour out of aperture 40. The valve 80 and valve control 30 may be electrical, mechanical, or any combinations thereof. The drinking vessel 10 may have a protrusion (e.g. bridge, guide) 50 which a user may use to rest against a region on their face when drinking, such a upper lip, philtrum, nose, or any region above the mouth. The drinkable cap 20 may have a recess 60 which may be designed such that no part of the bottom lip touches the cap 20. The button 30 may also have a recess or angled such that no part of the nose touches the cap.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user drinking from a system 200 in an embodiment. Drinking vessel 10 comprises drinkable cap 20. In this illustration, the user may press valve control 30 to permit the flow of liquid (e.g. water) 70 out of the drinking vessel 10 and into the mouth. The user may rest the end 55 of a bridge 50 (e.g. protrusion, guide, cap guide) of the cap 20 against their philtrum (or turned upside down on their upper chin (mentolabial sulcus), or on their side of face). In this manner, the user's lips and/or mouth may not touch the bottle cap 20 while drinking. In another embodiment, recess 60 may also be designed to allow a user to drink without their lips/mouth touching drinkable cap 20. In an embodiment, valve control 30 may utilize the protrusion 50 or protrusion end 55. The protrusion end 55 may for example comprise a pressure sensor, infrared sensor, a touch sensor, a capacitor switch, capacitive proximity sensors, a mechanical switch, a button, or the like in order to control the valve 80. For example, a user may push the end of the recess 55 up against the philtrum in order to engage the valve 80. In this embodiment, the user does not need to use his fingers to release water (e.g. liquid) 70 into their mouth, as the action of pressing the protrusion 50 and/or protrusion end 55 against their face serves as the triggering event. In an embodiment, the valve control 30 and any electronics may be co-located and removably secure to the cap 20 so that a user may safely wash the other non-electrical portions.

FIG. 3 illustrate the drinkable cap system 300 with button 30 not depressed, thereby not permitting water to pour out of conduit 80 since it is pinched closed by valve 90 pressing against it. Conduit 80 may be made of a soft rubber, silicon, plastic or other material that can be forced closed, creating a tight enough seal such that water droplets cannot pass through it when forced shut.

FIG. 4. illustrate the drinkable cap system 300 such that when button 30 is pressed, the valve 90 is moved away from conduit 80, allowing the conduit to open. This action allows water to flow through the aperture 85. When valve 90 is forced away from the conduit, it may be desirable for the valve to also pull a portion of the conduit with it, forcing the opening 85. The value can be attached to the conduit in order to pull it open via an adhesive, mechanically attached or other known methods where one object and pull on another object. In another embodiment, the valve 90 may not be attached to the conduit 80 and the conduit opens under its own forces, to its original shape.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Similarly, any process steps described might be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the same result. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable others skilled in the art to understand the various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the embodiments be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather means “one or more.” Moreover, no element, component, nor method step in the described disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the following claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for . . . .”

In addition, the conjunction “and” when used in the claims is meant to be interpreted as follows: “X, Y and Z” means it can be either X, Y or Z individually, or it can be both X and Y together, both X and Z together, both Y and Z together, or all of X, Y, and Z together.

It should be understood that the figures illustrated in the attachments, which highlight the functionality and advantages of the described embodiments, are presented for example purposes only. The architecture of the described embodiments are sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized (and navigated) in ways other than that shown in the accompanying figures.

Furthermore, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the described embodiments in any way. It is also to be understood that the steps and processes recited in the claims need not be performed in the order presented.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function. A process or method may be implemented with a processor, or similar device, or any combination of hardware and software.

The various features of the embodiments described herein can be implemented in different systems without departing from the embodiments. It should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merely examples and are not to be construed as limiting the embodiments. The description of the embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. As such, the described teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A drinkable cap, comprising: an aperture; a valve configured to open and close the aperture; a valve controller configured to control the valve; a drinkable cap guide configured to protrude out from the drinkable cap in a vertical direction; and the drinkable cap configured to be a removably secured to a vessel.
 2. The drinkable cap of claim 1, further comprising: concave recesses.
 3. The drinkable cap of claim 1, wherein the valve controller is configured to pulse the valve on and off while activated.
 4. The drinking cap of claim 1, wherein the drinking cap is configured to be removably secured by way of threading, friction coupling, and snap on mechanisms.
 5. The drinking cap of claim 1, wherein the vessel is a water bottle, a coffee mug, a thermos, a canteen, a jug, a jar, and a cup.
 6. The drinking cap of claim 1, wherein the valve controller is mechanical, electrical. or any combinations thereof.
 7. The drinkable cap of claim 3, wherein the duty cycle of the pulsed valve is open between 1 to 7 seconds and closed for 1 to 4 seconds.
 5. The drinking cap of claim 1, wherein the valve controller comprises a pressure sensor, infrared sensor, a touch sensor, a capacitor switch, capacitive proximity sensors, a mechanical switch, and a button. 